Filter



Dec. 4, 1951 w. R. STAFFCRD FILTER Fild March 9, 1950 V INVENTOR.

d/HLTEQ e. SIP/F090, I

4 m El nd Patented Dec. 4, 1951 "FILTER;

Walter; RastafiforicLos Angeles, Califi, assignor to.Elmerllwolfer;LosAngeles, Calif.

AppIi'cation- March-B, 1950','S'erial No.1d8,570 .4. CIaims.. (Cl. 210-164) The present invention relates. to aflltrntxstruc tureassociated with. hollow rocker .armlshaftsin automobiles.

- .An-obiect of the-present invention..ist0.-p

videaan improved oilfilteringarrangement-which is-adaptedfor'use either with new automobiles or: withpresently' existingrautomobiles.

. Another object of; the present inventionriswto. provide an improved filtering, arrangement which may, be readilyinstalledtin.existing automobileswithout the -necessitysof removing .thecrank .case

p.an..

- Anotherobject of the "present. invention ,is to provide .an. improved filtering arrangement particularly applicablejfor installation between. the. axiallyaligned hollow rocker .armshaftsofan. automobile such as the .Chevrolet. type.

.A further object of the present. invention-.is to provide improved .oilfiltering arrangement of, this character whichautomatijcally serves to bypass. the oil from flowing through the. filter medium in the event thatlthe. filter mediumbecomes clogged from. infrequent cleaning. or: re.- placement.

The. features of. thepresentinvention which. are, believed to. be novel are set. forth with particularity in the appended claims. This invention itself, both as to. its.-organizationlandvmanner of operation, together with further. objects and advantages thereof. may .be best understood by reference to the following description taken in. connection with the accompanying. drawings in-. which:

Figure l is a view inside el'evati'onof. a filtering structuremountedon the rocker armshaft. of an automobile in accordance withlf'eatures of the. present-invention,

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 22 of Figure-l,

Figure 3 is a sectional view takenesubstantially on'line 3-3of Figure 2, and" Figure 4 is a View taken substantially'in the direction indicated bythe lines- 4--4 in Figure 1;

The figures show a conventional automobile structure: which includes the-motor block 1:0 with upstanding brackets ll, Hat-hereon for station arily supporting respectively the aligned hol-low rocker arm shafts I3, Hi, there being pivotally mounted on such shafts l3, M the corresponding rocker arms l5, it which are adapted to engage and move the corresponding valve stems ll, l8, and which are normally biased upwardly by the corresponding coil compression springs l9, 20.

These two stationary rocker arm shafts l3, I4 are spaced from one another as shown in Figure 3, normally, in a Chevrolet; automobile; a5 band or hollow cylinder (not shown) encircles:

the. adjacent. endsof the rockerarm, shafts L3,

L4 with-an oil; entrance port in such" bandor: 1 cylinder whereby oil may beintroduced intosuch hollow shafts I 3; 14" at their'adjacent ends; Inaccordance with the present invention, such conventional band or cylinder'is removed and an oil: filter-structureis mounted in place, as described imdetail hereinafter.

The outer ends'ofthe rocker-arm shafts L3; '14: are plugged as conventional, but the walls: of-

suchshafts E3, i l are apertured as indicated-in Figure'ato allow." oil originallyintroduced in the shaft toeflow out-of the shaft to provide lubrication for the pivotally mounted rocker arms l5, l6, as vwell as the. valve springs I9, 26'. These rocker armshafts l3; M are normally maintained stationary in the brackets H, l2. by corresponding loclring nuts 2|, 22. In adapting the present oil filter tothe automobile, the bolts- 21, 22am released to. allow axialoutward movementof the hollow shafts. l3, l4, after whichthe oil. fi1ter25 is inserted in place, the shafts 13., M- then move inwardly to their original position, and the bolts 2|, 22 are then tightened.

For this purpose. the oil filter structure hasa special construction-whereby itmay be fittedinbetween the valve springs ,H 2% with anapertuned portion adapted: to snugly receive opposite ends .of the: shafts 13, it, in, the manner shown in; Figure- .3.

.Oil entersthe filter 25 through the oil inlet tube 26. After passing through the filter 25-, the oil travelsthrough the channel 21 which'is in communication: with the aligned bores'of shafts l3, M. The outer ends of these shafts. l3, [4 are plugged and, oil. normally flows outwardly of the: samethrough the lubricating apertures indicated inFi'gure. 4; but in the eventofexcessive pres sure withinthe interior of. the shafts I3, :4, the.

oiLmay flowupwardly into the overflow tube 2%,

whichnmy extend. downwardly into the crankv case of .the;automobi1e motor..

The filter medium may, of. course, take .dif-

ferent forms and shapes, and preferably comprises a replaceable oil-porous membrane 2-9 in.

33A and through the oil channel 21 into the hol-,

low shafts l3, l4. However, in the event of excessive oil pressure in the chamber 35, the pres sure plate 33 is moved upwardly by such pressure against the action of the prestressed compression spring 3| to thereby allow the oil to bypass the filter medium 29 and flow directly from chamber 35 into the oil outlet port 21. This cone dition of excessive pressure may result, for example, when the filter medium 29 becomes clogged from infrequent cleaning or replace-- ment.

A feature of the present invention is that essentially no fastening elements are required to fasten the filter, there being provided for this purpose the integrally formed cylindrical portion 40 with its bore only slightly larger than the outside diameter of the shafts 13, M wherebysuch cylindrical portion 40 coacts with the ends of shafts I 3, l 4 not only to support the filter on such shafts l3, [4, but also to coact therewith to form oil seals.

A removable drain plug 42 may be screwed into a drain aperture located. in communication with substantially the lowest point in the chamber 35.

While the particular embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from this invention in its broader aspects and, therefore, the aim in the appended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. In a filtering arran ement f the character described, a pair of axially aligned hollow rocker arm shafts with their opposite ends spaced, an oil filter body having an oil inlet and an oil outlet, a cylindrical chamber in said body with the axis thereof extending generally vertically, said body having integrally formed therewith a cylindrical portion with the axis of said cylindrical portion extending generally horizontally, said cylindrical portion overlaying said opposite ends of said rocker arm shafts to provide a support for said oil filter body and to provide an oil seal between said filter and the outside surfaces of said shafts, a cylindrical filter medium of diameter somewhat less than the diameter of said shafts, said oil inlet and outlet being normally in communication with each other through said filter medium, a spring urged pressure plate normally resting on an annular shoulder in said body and providing a movable baffle between said oil inlet and said oil outlet, said pressure plate being movable away from said annular shoulder upon the occurrence of excessive pressure in said annular space, due, for example, to clogging of the filter medium, to thereby allow oil to flow from said inlet to said outlet without passing through said filter medium.

2. In a filtering arrangement of the character described, the combination comprising: a pair of axially aligned spaced hollow rocker arm shafts, a filter structure having an oil inlet and an oil outlet, said filter structure including a cylindrical portion snugly receiving both of the adjacent ends of said shafts to support said structure on said shafts and to provide therewith an oil seal, said oil outlet being in communication with said cylindrical portion and the bores of each of said shafts.

3. A filter structure of the character described, comprising: a body with a cylindrical chamber extending generally vertically, a cylindrical filter medium within said chamber of diameter somewhat less than the internal diameter of said chamber to provide an annular oil space outside and immediately adjacent said filter medium, said body having an annular shoulder adjacent said chamber, an apertured pressure plate normally resting on said shoulder, a prestressed coil compresion spring acting between said body and said pressure plate to normally press said pressure plate against said shoulder, said body having an oil inlet in communication with said annular space, said body having on oil outlet in communication with the interior of said cylindrical filter medium, said pressure plate being disposed to provide a movable bafile between said annular space and said oil outlet, said body having an integrally formed cylindrical portion adapted to receive opposite ends of aligned hollow shafts to support said filter structure on said shafts and to provide an oil seal therewith, and said oil outlet being in communication with the bore of said cylindrical portion.

4. An oil filter of the character described, comprising: a body having an oil inlet and an oil outlet, said body incorporating a filter medium through which oil passes in its flow from said inlet to said outlet, said body having a cylindrical portion overlying and snugly receiving opposite ends of axially aligned tubular rocker arm shafts to support said body on said rocker arm shafts and to provide an oil seal therewith.

WALTER R. STAFFORD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,506,967 Bosworth Sept. 2, 1924' 1,855,166 Crawford Apr. 19, 1932 1,913,193 Crawford June 6, 1933 

